Making a Difference – Global Health Technology Success Stories: Overview of over 400 submissions from 125 Countries

Abstract

Health Technology (HT) is vital to global health care. The dependence of health, rehabilitation, and wellness programs on technology for the delivery of services has never been greater. It is essential therefore, that HT be optimally managed. Clinical and biomedical engineers have been recognized by World Health Organization (WHO) as essential to providing this critical management.At the 1st International Clinical Engineering and HT Management Congress and Summit held in China in 2015, a resolution was adopted by the global Clinical Engineering (CE) country participants to identify and promote CE unique qualifications, and to record the CE contributions to the improvement of world health status. Review of published literature and submissions of case studies resulted in the first group of CE success stories. The review captured 150 stories from 90 countries – spanning over a period from the prior 10 years and the results were presented to health leaders at the WHO World Health Assembly in 2016. Last year, in 2017, additional 250 case studies from a total of 125 countries were added from the 2016-2017 period. This paper describes the evidence identified during the review, their sources and the 6 major categories they represent.